‘No,’ Nina said thoughtfully, going to the windows and playing her torch beam over the open mine. ‘That’s the Mother of the Shamir, down there.’ She pointed at the exposed green vein in the rock. ‘It gave birth to the others.’
Ziff nodded. ‘That would make sense, yes. But what is it?’
‘I don’t know.’ She turned — and her light caught something on the plinth’s side that had previously been hidden in shadow. ‘But that might tell us!’
Both archaeologists hurried to it. Their flashlights played over more Hebrew inscriptions. ‘Ah!’ exclaimed Ziff. ‘Another message from Solomon!’
Mukobo came to see. ‘What does it say?’
‘Just a moment, let me read…’ The Israeli fell silent as he absorbed the lengthy passage. ‘This is one of several Shamirs, yes — the largest of them all. Solomon says it was the source of the lost empire’s power, and they used it to destroy their enemies.’
‘How?’ asked Brice.
‘I’m not sure. This line here,’ he tapped the stone, ‘says “its gaze fell upon them, and their walls broke and fell, and their weapons burst asunder”.’
‘Not seeing any eyes on it to gaze with,’ noted Eddie. ‘Unless it once had some googly ones stuck on.’
‘It’s the same way the Shamir’s power was described in Hebrew mythology, though,’ said Nina. ‘Solomon built the First Temple by using its gaze to cut the stones.’
‘There’s more,’ said Ziff, still reading. ‘There’s a name here, a place: Jericho.’
Surprise from his audience. ‘As in, famous for its walls?’ asked Eddie.
‘It could be. This says the people of Zhakana took the Shamir as far as Jericho, and used it to bring down their walls.’ He frowned. ‘Although there’s no archaeological evidence that Jericho had any major defensive structures at the time of the Battle of Jericho — or even that the Battle of Jericho ever really took place.’
‘There wasn’t any solid evidence of the empire of Sheba until we found it,’ Nina pointed out, glancing at the statue of Makeda. ‘And considering how old Zhakana is, it might not even be the same Jericho. Names and events get muddled over time.’
‘This is all absolutely fascinating,’ said Brice dismissively, ‘but it still doesn’t explain what this thing is, or how it could be a weapon. It’s just a stone.’
‘And a ruby’s just a ruby, until you focus a laser beam through it,’ she replied. ‘I’ve seen previously unknown substances with weird properties before.’
‘Quite a few times,’ added Eddie.
‘If it is a weapon,’ Ziff went on, ‘then it destroyed its creators as well as their enemies. Solomon said that according to the legends of Sheba, “their greed for more Shamirs caused their own walls to fall, and then their people. Those who were not turned barren gave birth to accursed monsters, twisted and vile. And so ended the great empire of Zhakana, reduced to the City of the Damned. To those who wish to use the Shamir: heed the wisdom of Solomon lest the same happen to you.”’
Eddie regarded the mysterious stone unhappily. ‘Okay, seriously: that thing sounds like some kind of neutron bomb. It’s probably as radioactive as a Chernobyl meat pie.’
‘Radiation can’t cut stones,’ said Brice firmly. ‘If it was some kind of weapon, then that’s not how it worked.’
‘Then we shall find out!’ declared Mukobo. ‘We can buy guns and rocket launchers with the treasure here. But if this stone really is a weapon, then I will use it on my enemies. Their walls will fall — and their heads!’ He shouted a command, and the rest of the Insekt Posse came in. ‘Take everything to the boats. They will help carry it,’ he said of the prisoners.
Luaba gestured for Eddie and Fortune to pick up the Shamir’s casket. ‘No, no,’ said the warlord. ‘I do not trust them. Especially not Chase!’ He pointed at two of the militia. ‘Vous, amenez-le.’
The pair went to the plinth and tried to pick up the box, only to strain in surprise at its weight. Grunting, they hauled it off the plinth. ‘That’ll be tricky to get up the ladder to the surface,’ said Brice.
‘Then we leave the box,’ Mukobo replied. Another instruction, and the men gratefully returned the case to its original position before removing the Shamir. Both looked unsettled at its touch.
‘What did he say?’ asked Nina as one of the men expressed his discomfort.
‘He thought it was… electric,’ said the warlord, himself perturbed. ‘But now it has stopped.’
The chamber’s valuables were gathered. ‘We will come back to see if there is more,’ Mukobo proclaimed. ‘Now, go! Allez, vite!’
The journey to the surface was laborious, the weight of Mukobo’s prizes slowing progress. The Insekt Posse were elated by the riches they had found, but the limited conversation amongst the captives was far more muted. ‘I do not know how we can get out of this,’ Fortune murmured to Eddie as the group bunched up at a bridge.
‘Me neither,’ the Yorkshireman replied. ‘Even if we had a big enough distraction to grab some guns, they’ve still got hostages.’
‘Then we need to get our people away from them.’
‘I know. But how? I don’t—’
Luaba struck his rifle’s butt against Eddie’s back. ‘Shut up! Move away from him.’ Shooting the hulking bodyguard an angry glare, Eddie retreated from his friend.
They continued upwards, at last reaching the top of the chasm and re-entering the palace’s tunnels. The three traps were still inactive, everyone passing through safely. Finally, they arrived at the shaft to the roof. ‘Go up and get rope,’ Mukobo ordered. ‘We will use it to lift the treasure.’ The more weighty items were gratefully set down, then some of the Insekt Posse scurried towards daylight.
Nina felt a sick tension, knowing that her usefulness to the warlord would soon be over. But there was something else adding to her nervousness — and it was growing stronger. ‘Lydia,’ she whispered. ‘Is your mic on?’
The New Zealander still had her sound equipment. ‘Yeah,’ she said sullenly. ‘Why?’
‘That weird noise — is it still there?’
The other woman reluctantly donned her headphones. Her expression became one of wary curiosity. ‘Yeah — but it’s changed,’ she said, adjusting dials. ‘The frequency’s different… it’s rising. And so’s the intensity.’
‘It’s getting louder?’ Nina’s eyes went to the Shamir. The horn-shaped stone rested at the bottom of the shaft, light from high above reflecting faintly from its green surface. She surreptitiously put her palm against the wall beside her. The sensation was almost disturbing, as if the rock was buzzing, squirming under her touch.
‘You feel it too?’ Eddie quietly asked.
‘Yeah. I don’t know what’s causing it… but I can take a pretty good guess.’ She eyed the Shamir again. ‘It started when they put it in the light. Maybe it’s reacting to it?’
‘Maybe, but then why would Solomon need to line the place with lead? If he’d wanted to keep it in the dark, just wrapping it in a blanket would’ve done the job.’
They were not the only ones feeling the unsettling effect. The Insekt Posse shifted with growing restlessness. There was considerable relief when ropes eventually dropped from above. ‘Take up the treasure — start with that one,’ ordered Mukobo, pointing at the golden bust before turning to two of his men. ‘You and you, go up and help from the top. Take them with you,’ he added, indicating Ziff and Lydia.
‘What about us?’ Eddie demanded.
‘You, Chase? You are not leaving my sight. Until I am finished with you.’ He smiled, but there was no mistaking the threat.